


Creep

by rockbrigade



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-06
Updated: 2014-06-06
Packaged: 2018-02-03 01:33:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1726313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockbrigade/pseuds/rockbrigade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hirakoba invites Kai over, but is stuck entertaining an uninvited guest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Creep

That small gap in the curtains let in just a slit of orange afternoon sun. It spread itself diagonally over Hirakoba’s face, so he had to squint up at the fish tank on the desk just behind his head. Sucks to be them, really, never being able to swim in the ocean again. “Well, that’s the price of being gorgeous,” he said to himself, but it was his sister, passing by his open door at just the right time, who responded.

"Awww, poor baby…" she said, with her lips pursed.

Hirakoba sat up quickly and stared at her. “Talkin’ about the fish! God.” She continued to make mock soothing noises at him so he said, “Seen Yuujirou?”

"What, today? Nah. He coming over?"

"S’posed to. Just to hang—"

A voice floated up from outside Hirakoba’s window. “You sure this is the right house? Y’know ‘cause I go to Rin’s place all the time and— Argh!” Hirakoba and his sister stared at each other’s strained expressions as they heard a small scuffle outside. “Aw, thank god you caught that! What even happens to a place when there’s just one Shiisa? I dun wanna find out!”

When Hirakoba pulled the front door open moments later, he found Kai and Chinen standing around in the yard.

"Oh, Rin!" Kai seemed quite excited to be at the right house… but then he always seemed quite excited to be wherever he was. "Dude, how did you know I was here! You’re like… Hiroshi, Rin’s like one of those espers you were talkin’ about!" 

"Oh. You brought Hiroshi." Hirakoba said as flatly as possible, but Chinen just glanced about with a blank expression on his face.

"Yeah, I picked him up!" Kai was hopping up and down in this irritating, restless way, that made his pocket change jingle.

"Picked him up? Or did he pick you up? …Forget it, you’re both useless. It’s amazing you made it here in this…"

"Life." Chinen said suddenly. He stared right into Hirakoba’s eyes like a weirdo.

"Whatever, Rin, let me use your bathroom, okay?" Hirakoba leaned himself against the door to let Kai dance past him.

"You know where it is," Hirakoba said, and then thinking better of it, dove inside after Kai and called, "at the end of the hall to the left!" When he turned back towards the yard, he found Chinen directly in front of his face, in the entrance hall, with his shoes already removed. "Yeah, just come in. That’s cool." Hirakoba said, with irritation.

"Thanks." Chinen said. Chinen was pretty much a jerk.

They had sat still in Hirakoba’s room, in complete silence, for five long minutes, before Kai finally burst in. “Rin! That cute girl in our class gave me this CD today and you totally have to hear it!”

"What cute girl? Hips or Knee-socks?" Hirakoba said, as he watched Kai dump the contents of his schoolbag onto the floor.

"Ehh… Knee-socks… No, uh." He sat upright for a minute, concentrating. "Yeah, Knee-socks, but she was totally upset when I called her that, so I’m supposed to say… Something… nah, it’s gone." Kai began spreading his litter out on the floor in an arc shape.

"Yuujirou, the heck, you actually called her Knee-socks?"

"Dammit, I think I left it at Sasebo Burger!" Kai pulled at the curls of his hair in despair. "Aw shit, n’ I’m supposed to return it! M’gonna go run to see if it’s still there!" He hoisted his bag over his shoulder, zip still wide open; anything in the bag that wasn’t already on the floor flew out as Kai dashed out the door.

Then there were two. Chinen looked as though he had not moved an inch since he came into the room, and he wasn’t showing any sign of caving to Hirakoba’s glare, either. Screw you, then. Hirakoba lay back on the floor - pulling out from under his back scrunched up pieces of paper Kai had left - and stared up at the fish tank. There was a steady stream of bubbles at the corner of the tank that drew the attention of his eyes. Suddenly, he realised Chinen’s face was bent close to his, looming over him.

"Rin, let me pluck your eyebrows."

"The heck? No!" Hirakoba really wanted to move away quickly, without head-butting Chinen and without looking like a chicken, but that wasn’t a realistic option. "I only let the salon touch them!" and he placed his hands on his forehead.

"You don’t let the salon dye them." Chinen said.

The silence that followed was altogether too long and rather puzzled. “…Wouldn’t match my skin tone…” Hirakoba said defensively.

"What are your fish called?"

"Eh?"

"What are they called, your fish?"

They stared blankly at each other for a moment. Hirakoba moved his hands, gently, to Chinen’s shoulders, and pushed him backwards. He then shifted himself onto his knees and turned to the tank. He pointed vaguely as the drifted by, “That’s Queenie, and that’s Trance. The one with the torn fin is Bruiser, ‘cause…” Hirakoba turned to make sure Chinen was looking, only to find that he wasn’t. Not at the tank, but directly into his eyes, just like before. Hirakoba shuddered, and Chinen said randomly,

"I kissed Yuujirou once."

Hirakoba thought he should pretty much move away, but he didn’t. “You really give me the creeps,” he said, but Chinen didn’t seem to hear.

"Yuujirou said that kisses taste like brown sugar."

"…and? Did it?"

"It tasted like Sasebo Burger."

Hirakoba felt his mind go completely blank. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Queenie swim past the spot where his fingertip was still pressed against the glass. Chinen blocked out that little ray of light from the curtains and the whole room seemed a little darker for a while.

From downstairs, a hoarse voice sounded. “Rin, could you be a dear…?”

Hirakoba stared at Chinen, who stared back. Hirakoba’s finger squeaked against the fish tank as he drew it down the glass, and he said, quietly, “My grandma’s home.”


End file.
